DOE Allows Quatrocchi To Retire

By Howard Schwach

A longtime Far Rockaway elementary/ middle school principal who was unceremoniously walked from his school in September of 2010 after being suspended, has been allowed to quietly retire as part of a stipulation agreement, Department of Education officials said this week.

“As part of his stipulation agreement, the principal was allowed to retire, effective April 16, 2012,” a DOE source said. “There will be no further action taken in this case.”

Principal John Quatrocchi, who had been the principal of PS 43 for more than 20 years, was escorted out of PS 43 in mid-September of 2010, shortly after the school year began, by school security agents and reassigned to the district office in Ozone Park.

“We have removed the principal from the building pending an investigation and placed a new acting principal in the building,” said Margie Feinberg, a spokesperson for the DOE shortly after his removal.

Feinberg declined to talk about the nature of the investigation, citing confidentiality issues when discussing school personnel, but school experts told The Wave that the immediate placement of a new administrator in the building rather than placing one of the school’s assistant principals in the acting role, generally means that the situation is a serious one and that the investigation will be long-term.

Sources who were at the school when Quatrocchi was removed, but who asked to remain anonymous say that Quatrocchi was found guilty of charges of sexual misconduct with another staff member but DOE sources declined to affirm or deny the story due to privacy considerations.